Plate, dish, or the like



M. P. CHAPLIN 1,748,911

PLATE, DIS H, OR THE LIKE Filed Jan. 16, 1930 Patented. m5. 25,1930

MERLE I. GHAPLIN, .01 WATERVILLE, MAINE, .ASSIG'HOB, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS NITED l'-=s"'raras Aren't orrica 7 T FIDELITY TRUST COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE,-

AS TRUSTEE I rLA'rE, men, or. ran aria Application filed January 1c, 1930. Serial no. 421,155. 4

For use in the household, in restaurants, lunchrooms or picnics, etc. there is a very considerable demand for serviceable table plates and containers which can be thrown .5 away after a single use.

' These plates or containers must be of relatively low cost and for this reason can be most economically produced by-molding froma fibre stock such as wood pulp, etc.

The economical commercial production of such articles requires very careful development of machinery and equipment so that the maximum strength and serviceability is secured from the fibre stock used, the desiderata being a finished article of suflicient strength and rigidity to support any reasondish or similar food container embodying the foregoing desiderata, I have devised my present invention.

' Briefly, I utilize certain parts or elements.

of the generally uniformly, integrally deposited fibre in such'manner as greatly to 1ncrease the strength and rigidity of the' finished article, and I do this without any increase in the minimum weight of fibre stock used. Besides being uniform and integral and besides having the stock so distributed as'to give the greatest strength and rigidity with the minimum amount of material, I also arrange for an increased amount or distribution of stock in the edge area thereofwhere it may be'necessary or desirable to increase the'serviceability of. the article. I

As a result, the article is an article of'definitely increased strength and rigidity in which the various fibre deposits combine with .each other to provide that degree of strength and stifiness throughout the-article and particularly at its edge so necessary in an article'of this general type and purpose.

S ecifically plates or other containers ma e in accordance with my present invention are, suificiently strong to resist circum ferential rupturing strains whereby tearing of the' article edge is avoided and suflicientlyrigid to resist transverse bending stresses when the article is loaded with food and lift- .ed at its edge, soas to avoid buckling or collapse.

These sult from the incorporation into the article during its rocess of manufacture of an infactors of strength and-rigidity re-- tegral' rein orcing annulus of inverted channel section and of stifi'ened edge constructio'mwhich annulus provides in efi'ect a circumferential channel beam continuously girdling the article and strengthening and 'stiflteningit in the very area where it is normally weakest and hence most susceptible to rupture and/or collapse. I

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view of such an article. Fig. 2 is a cross-section, and

Fig. 3 is an analysis of the stacking space;

relative to the thicknessfof fibre stock.-

, As characteristic of the several shapes of container in which my invention can be produced, I show a plate comprising a-depressed bottom portion 1, an upwardly and outwardly curved side wall 2 and an integral surrounding reinforcing annulus of inverted channel section, presenting a relatively straight inclined web 3 extending upwardly and outwardly from the wall 2 and terminating in a down-turned portion .4 which extends out-- wardly as a thickened edge 5.

Although capable of being made of other materials and b other methods, my plate, dish or like conta ner may be and preferably is made of compressed pulp. Such pulp may be deposited by suctionv on any suitable forming die and compressed by'a coacting' die. Suction is maintained on the forming die during pulp'deposition, and compressed air is sent through said die and suction simultaneously applied to the coacting die to efi'ect transfer or the formed article from the forming .die to the coacting die.

The article thus'formed is of general uni-' form thickness but carries an extra amount tween them the fiat bottom section on which of stock for a certain distance in from its edge so that the entire edge of the article is-reinforced by the presence of this addi-' tional stock.

Inasmuch as the use of fibre table ware requires that the plate or other articles be capable of being lifted by means of the edge or rim of the plate without tearing or bending, it is necessary in order for the plate to give satisfactory service, first, that the tensile strength along the edge of the plate in a circumferential direction shall be suflicient to prevent rupture of the plate at the point where the plate is lifted, and second, that the rigidity and stiffness of theplate transversely across from the point of.support,

shall be sufiicient to prevent theplate from buckling or bending to any great extent.

The extra strength to prevent rupture of the edge is secured by an increased thickness of pulp deposit around this edge. This can be extended back from the edge any desired distance but should not extend to thesloping side or rim. The necessary rigidity or stiffness of the plate to resist buckling through the center is provided by the channel section which extends entirely around the plate and which effects in reality two channel beams extended from the point of support to the op posite side of the plate and supporting bethe food is placed.

Another important feature which must always be considered in the production of table Ware of this character is the space which it occupies before use. The ordinary methods of making ceramic or china table ware has been to provide heavy thick sections at cer-l tain points either for supporting the plate or other container on the table or to prevent the edge from becoming nicked, chipped or broken during the use of this plate and particularly during thewashing or cleaning of the. vertical thickness at any section of the plate is maintained reasonably uniform or consistent over the entire area as illustrated in Fig. 3, wherein two plates are shown as stacked or nested. A

The rigidity, stiffness and strength of my novel article is maintained and the effective thickness is increased where strength is necessarywithout increasing the total space occupied.

the greatest vertical'stacking or storage space required is ordinarily determined by the vertical depth at point a, and that it is possible to increase the thickness of the late at any point without increasing the stacking or storing space provided it is not greater than the vertical distance through point a. Fig. 3 illustrates this and it will be noted that the vertical thickness or stacking space required is not greater at the rim section than it is at point a, but that the amount of stock or thickness of the article is very materially increased for strengthening and stiffening purposes at its edge portions 4-5.

. It will also be noted that the effective thickness or depth of the entire flange section of the plate is increased to several times the actual thickness of the plate itself by reason of the peculiar shape of the flange of this plate which is in effect an inverted channel sloping up from the bottom of the. plate to form a suitable rim.

Various modifications in size, shape, and

terial having a bottom, a mm, and an outer edge part curved relative to said rim, a second part merging into said bottom and curved relative to said rim, and spaced from said first part by said rim, to form a dish having sides,

fill

channel shaped in cross section, thereby minimizing buckling and bending of the dish when held by the rim or edge parts, said outer edge part terminating in an outwardly extending portion disposed at an angle thereto and having more stock therein than the remaining portions of the dish whereby to constitute an annular stiffness and reinforcing frame surroundin said outer edge part.

2. A dish formed 0% terial having a bottom and a surrounding side portion, the said portion comprising central and inner and outer edge part the inner edge part being curved with respect to the central part and merging into the bottom of the plate and the outer edge part extending down- Wardly with respect to the central part, whereby said side portion is channel shaped in cross section, said outer edge part terminating in an outwardly extendin portion disposed at an angle thereto and having more stock therein than the remaining portions of the dish whereby to constitute an annular 'stiffeningandreinforcing frame surround- 3 ing said outer edge part.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature.

I MERLE P. CHAPLIN.

compressed pulp ma 

